LIVERPOOL football ace Mario Balotelli has been banned from driving for 28 days and fined £800 after clocking up speeds of 109mph in his top-of-the-range Ferrari.

The 24-year-old had beem pulled over by police after being spotted tearing along the M62 at Tarbock Island in Merseyside.

Balotelli told officers he had not been aware he was going above the speed limit in his left-hand drive, high-performance sports car.

The striker - who earns £110,000 a week at Anfield - was given an £800 fine, ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge and £100 court costs.

His solicitor Mike Hogan asked the court for 28 days to pay following the incident shortly after midnight on December 3 last year.

He added the Liverpool man would have pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing but he failed to answer a court summons because there was a problem with his mail following a move to a recently constructed home in Formby.

"It wasn't a case of him simply ignoring an important document sent by the court," said Mr Hogan.

"Had he received the summons in the first place he would have pleaded guilty on his first appearance.

"Mr Balotelli has asked me to apologise."

He added the Italian international fully co-operatated with police.

There's no suggestion that he makes a habit of doing this

Mike Hogan

"The police officers pulled him over just after midnight," said Mr Hogan.

"He may have been in a rush to get home and very quickly the speed crept up.

"There's no suggestion that he makes a habit of doing this."

The hearing came just a day after teammate Kolo Toure was also fined when he was caught speeding twice in the same week.

The Liverpool defender was recorded travelling at 57mph on the M6 at Thelwall Viaduct when a temporary speed restriction of 40mph was in force on April 26 last year.

He was then caught driving at 72mph in a 50mph zone on the M56 westbound on May 3.

He was given eight points on his licence, fined £660 and ordered to pay court costs of £300 and a victim surcharge of £66.